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June 2, 1931'. E. MALLlNcKRoDT, JR., ET A1. 1,807,593

METHOD OF PACKAGING ETHER AND THE PRODUCT THEREOF Filed Dec. 20, 1929 ff#Le/e,

' and,

Patented June 2, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDWARD MALLINCKRODT,JR., 0F ST. LOUIS, AND HENRY V. FARRAND LAWRENCE I. HALL, OF FERGUSON,MISSOURI, ASSIGNORS TO MALLINCKRODT CHEMICAL WORKS, OF ST'. LOUIS,MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI METHOD OF PACKAGING ETI-IER ANI) THEPRODUCT IH-EREOIEV Application led December 20, 1929. SerialNo. 415,440.

linckrodt, Jr., and Henry V. Farr, `No. i

This invention relates to methods of packaging, and with regard tocertain more specic features, to a method of packaging ether, togetherwith the novel package therefor.

' Amongthe several objects of the invention may be noted the provisionof a method of packaging ether whereby incipient deterioration of theether is effectually prevented, a method which is characterized by itssimplicity and ease of procedure, a method of lpackaging ether whichobviates the use of extraneous preservative substances; the provision ofa'package for ether adapted for use in the method described which iseasily and economically manufactured, and which contains an interiorsurface non-catalytic to the deterioration of ether. Other objects willbe inpart obvious Vand in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations ofelements, features of construction, arrangements of parts, materials andthey combination of materials and the steps and'sequence of steps, whichwill be exemplified in the following description andthe application ofwhich will be indicated in the annexed claims: f In the accompanyingdrawings in which are illustrated several of various possibleembodiments of the invention, y Fig. l is a vertical section of apackage;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionof amodication of the package of Fig. l.v

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.l v

Heretofore the conventional rpackage for ether has comprised a metal canhaving the general shape of the package shown in the drawings. However,the shape of the Vcan or package is of substantially no consequenceinthe present invention. Thefpreviously used can Vwas composed ofconventional tin plated iron formed by the conventional process, duringwhich any tin oxide, or dross, formed on the surface of the tin wasremoved by conventional processes.

" lIt is shown in the'patentV to Edward Mal- 1,697,320, dated January 1,1929, that the clean tin surface presented to the Yether in the candescribed above is deleterious to the ether itself, inasmuch as theclean tin exerts a catalytic effect accelerating the decomposition ofether in the presence of airfor oxygen to peroxides, and other harmfulcompounds. It is further shown in this patent that oxidation ofthesurface of the tin exposed to the ether prevents such catalyticdeterioration, and, in fact, the surface so formed is inert.v l Y Wehave found thatbright or unoxidized aluminum exerts a catalytic effectsimilar to the effect of bright tin described in the above patent, inthat it catalyzes and/or aids in the deterioration of the ether toperoxides and other harmful substances. It may be that the action ofbright aluminum in promoting decomposition orl deterioration of etheris-'other than catalytic, i. e. the effect may be produced by so calledcoupling or the simultaneous oxidation of aluminum and ether. In anycase ,the invention herein described is effective inde,-y pendent of thetheory of the chemical reaction. A film of aluminum oxide on thealuminum substantially prevents such action; A The present. inventionincludes the formationof'a package for ether so that the in-te-, riorsurface lwill comprise a surface of alum'- inum oxide. `Aluminumoxidizes readilyV in an ordinary atmosphere. This fact is takenadvantage of in thepresent invention, whereinthe troublesome operationof artiicially :oxidizing the tin surface in the patent above identifiedis eliminated.

We have found that aluminum oxide, as well as certain other metallicoxides, act sim-l ilarly to tin oxide, in that theyare inert, andpossibly: even anticatalytic or inhibitive to' the decomposition ofether into peroxides,

acetaldehyde and like compounds which areV undesirable, if 'the ether isto be used for anaesthetic purposes. We have further dis,- covered theoxidized aluminum` or aluminumoxide' irs-inert 0r possibly, mayV act insuch an anticatalytic or .inhibitivefmanner, whether or not the etherbepackaged in an ico atmosphere of air or oxygen, or in an inertatmosphere. It is thus apparent that the present invention constitutes avaluable improvement over the former processes of packaging ether.

Referring to Fig. 1, numeral 1, represents the container, which in thepresent embodimcnt, is formed of sheet aluminum. Numeral 3 indicates thebottom of the container, 5 the cylindrical body, 7 the neck portion, and9 the cap. At numeral 11 is indicated the coating of aluminum oxides onthe interior of the container or package l. It is to be noted that thethickness of the coating 11 is exaggerated in the drawings for thepurpose of clarity, and that the coating 11 in the actual container maybe of any thickness, so long as it substantially covers the cleanaluminum surface.

It is not always necessary that the neck portion 7 and/or the capportion 9 be made from aluminum, inasmuch as ether in the package is notordinarily in contact with these portions. The packaged ether comes intocontact with the neck 7 and the cap 9, only when the can is agitated orthe ether poured, and such exposure to these relatively small areas isordinarily insufiicient to produce any measurable decomposition.

For this reason, it has been found commercially expedient to manufacturethe neck 7 from copper sheet, tin plate, or the like, and the cap 9 fromlead or other soft metals. It is to be noted, however, that a maximumdegree of protection may be had by making the neck 7 and cap 9, as wellas the body 5 and bottom 3, Vfrom sheet aluminum.

Sheet aluminum as it usually appears in commerce has been exposed to theair for a length of time sufficient to cause the formation of sufficientoxide coating, and artificial oxidation is therefor generallyunnecessary.

In Fig. 2 is illustrated a modification of the invention wherein thesheet aluminum of Fig. 1 is substituted by a sheet iron or othermetallic container 13, which has its interior surface plated orotherwise covered by an aluminum surface 15, which in turn has anoxidized surface 17. The aluminum l5 may be plated on, or it'may bewelded or other wise aflixed to the sheet iron 13, or it may comprise aseparate container of aluminum foil or the like placed within the sheetiron container 13. The object is to provide a surface of aluminum oxidefor the interior surface of the can.

The process of packaging ether herein described, therefore, fcomprisesbrieiiy the preparation of a package having an interior surface ofaluminum oxide, and introducing the ether therein.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved and other advantageous results attained;

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above, withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

We claim:

1. The package of ether comprising a can having its interior surfacesubstantially covered with aluminum oxide, said can containing ether.

2. The package of ether comprising an aluminum can, said can containingether.

3. The package of ether comprising an aluminum can having its interiorsurface substantially covered with aluminum oxide, said can containingether.

4. The package of [ether` comprising a metallic can having its interiorsurface substant-ially covered with alumi-nun oxide, said can containingether.

5. The package of ether comprising a metallic can having an interiorcoating of aluminum, said can containing ether.

G. The package of ether comprising a metallic can having an interiorcoating of aluminum, said interior coating having a further coating ofaluminum oxide, said can containing ether.

7. The package of ether comprising a can having its bottom and bodyportions substantially coated on the interior with aluminum oxide, saidcan containing ether.

8. The package of ether comprising a can having its bottom and bodyportions made of aluminum, said can containing ether.

9. The method of packaging ether which comprises forming a package withan interior coating of aluminum oxide, and introducing ether therein.

10. The method of packagi-ng ether which comprises forming a packagesubstantially of aluminum with a coating of aluminum oxide thereon, andintroducing ether therein.

11. The method of packaging ether which comprises forming a metall-icpackage with an interior surface of aluminum, and introducing ethertherein.

12. The method of packaging ether which comprises forming a metallicpackage with an interior surface of aluminum, said aluminum having acoating yof aluminum oxide, and introducing ether therein.

13. The method of packaging ether which comprises forming a package withbottom and body portions of aluminum, and introducing ether therein.

14.-. The method of packaging ether which comprises forming a packagewith bottom and body portions hav-ing an interior surface ofA aluminum,and introducing ether therein.

15. The method of packaging ether which comprises forming a package withbottom lll) iin

